Carpe Diem
by Jamie-Marie102
Summary: Harry finds himself betrayed by the ones he fought so desperately to save. A need for revenge and escape leads Harry to a spell that sends him back to 1931, were a very jaded boy who lives meets a young Tom Riddle. IndependentHarry! IntelligentHarry! DarkHarry! TMRxHP This is slash no like no read. Rated T for now could go up.
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter no matter how much I wish I did._**

**_I want to give out a thanks to my amazing Beta _**_**Persephone-Gaia.**_

_**Enjoy (:**_

Carpe Diem

Chapter 1

Harry used to have dreams of what his life would be like after the war and the defeat of Voldemort. He would imagine himself making off with Ginny, having troves of children, becoming an Auror, settling down later on to teach at Hogwarts or work in the ministry or some such job. He would watch his children grow along Hermione's and Ron's and would eventually grow old having lived a long, good, peaceful life.

Harry had many of those dreams.

But now as he stared into the fearful distrustful eyes of the ones he had committed his life to protect, he wondered how he could have ever been so foolish. After years with the Dursely's you would think the message of trust no one but yourself and keep your head down and just survive would have been drilled deeply enough inside his thick skull to stick, but somewhere along the way of false kindness, hope, and twinkly eyed old men, he had buried his resolve and convinced himself of goodness, truth and love.

What utter hogwash.

No, Harry knew better now, he could see Dumbledore's manipulations for what they were, a way to control his weapon and now that his weapon had run out of uses he was much too powerful to leave sitting around where he may develop a thought process of his own.

* * *

Growling lightly, Harry looked up from his seat in Dumbledore's office refocusing his attention. "What are you saying Headmaster?"

Said Headmaster cocked his head lightly to the side and sighed, eyes still twinkling obnoxiously. "My dear boy I know life has been hard on you, but I simply cannot condone the choices you have made. You must speak for your actions."

"My actions," Harry shouted loudly letting out a burst of magic in his wake, "You mean the actions I took to save us all from a megalomaniac dark lord! Those actions?!"

Dumbledore gave him a rather disappointed look for his outburst in an attempt to cow him. It only served to incense him further and he felt his magic coil and grow around him as he seethed in rage.

"Calm down, Harry my boy, there is no need to get so upset; you know the Dark arts and lost arts are illegal. You must face the consequences." Harry's eyes widened and he slumped in his chair before schooling his face into a perfect picture of blankness. The room's temperature dropped swiftly as the once enraged magic turned deadly.

"You intend to punish me for learning the dark arts and lost arts? The two things that allowed me to beat Voldemort? The things I spent years desperately studying so I could fight back against the death eaters and save the ones I loved…? I have begun to wonder who is truly more evil, you or Voldemort."

With those words he pushed himself from the chair making a move to leave, when two Aurors burst in. "Harry Potter you are under arrest for the unlawful use of the Dark and lost arts. Step down and hand us your wand."

Hardly blinking, Harry flicked his wrist causing the two men to fly backwards hitting the far wall of the office. He heard Dumbledore yell for him to stop, but without looking back, Harry Potter disappeared.

* * *

Moving quickly, Harry exited the Hogwarts wards, grabbed his wand, and disappariated. The familiar feeling of being pulled through a tube hit as he was unceremoniously dumped on the tile floor, barely refraining from falling.

Harry sighed, moving around the old house he now resided in. The house had been one of the Potter properties that had been given to him upon his seventeenth birthday, along of course with the rest of his inheritance and the Potter lordship.

Looking around, he found the large tome he had read before Dumbledore had summoned him to his office to betray him. Flipping through the pages, he opened to a particular marked page and re-read the ritual listed there.

This really could go horribly wrong. Many had tried the spell and the few that had hadn't lived long enough to remark it a success.

Sighing again, Harry let his head fall in his hands. What was it again that Fred and George had always been trying to teach Percy? …Ah yes, Carpe Diem: seize the day. Well, he supposed he didn't truly have much to lose.

Lifting his head from his hands he called out, "Dobby!" The small wrinkled house elf appeared moments later, grinning happily at him.

"Oh master Harry! What can Dobby do to help yous?"

Smiling lightly back at him, Harry replied, "Do you remember the list of items that I showed you a few days ago? Did you pick up the things on it?" Dobby nodded enthusiastically and snapped his fingers, handing over a bag filled with a few large objects and a bucket of goat's blood.

"Yes Dobby gots everything Master Harry asked Dobby for!" Thanking him, Harry let him know he was dismissed and turned to the items he would need to perform the spell.

Working quickly, Harry managed to set everything up in a matter of hours. He now sat in a black robe in the center of a circle filled with runes, drawn in goat's blood. His wand was clutched tightly in his hand as he took a deep breath and began the enchantment.

"Sileo et reformandam."

Harry felt his magic swirl around him causing wind to erupt and the goat's blood runes to glow. All around him, the world began to rain in bright colors, drawing brighter and brighter until there bleak nothingness.

* * *

Groaning in pain, Harry sat up and rubbed his hands over his eyes before stopping abruptly and lowering them in front of him. Staring at his now child's sized hands, Harry stood and made his way into a slightly busy street that appeared to be somewhere in London.

Meandering around, Harry found a newspaper stand and pulled one of the latest editions from the stack. Ignoring the articles he went straight for the date: June 21 1931.

It had worked.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN/ Hello people, I wanted to thank you for all the wonderful review and follows I got for my first chapter so I went ahead and updated a little quicker than I was expecting to. **

**Linda Ku- ****_thank you so much. I'm a sucker for them as well. Hope you keep reading and enjoying._**

**_AceNina-Yeah I know its horrible, I just got a beta though and all mistakes have hopefully been fixed._**

**_Miss Nailia- Thank you and I have plans for it to evolve into hopefully quite a story! I hope this update was quick enough (:_**

**_Fae0306- Thank you I will try and keep it up!_**

**_Rosier- Thank you! I promise I will go more in depth with the betrayals as the story goes on, and yup he de-aged himself essentially. I hope the surname and explanation of how he got there worked out for you. _**

**_Stardust of Orion-Thank you! the background of who all betrayed him will come out as the story progresses onward. It's explained later in the chapter why he didn't bother bringing anything with him. I hope my Tom and Harry interaction please you, they will come about in the next chapter._**

**_lostfeather1 -Thank you and yes I know the errors suck. _**

* * *

Chapter 2

The spell had worked. Harry was now officially in 1931. Grinning at his victory, he took in the other effects of the spell. He was now around five, he summarized.

The de-aging had been one of the rituals side effects, along with the fact he had been unable to take anything along with him. The Spell known simply as the renewal ritual, gave one a new life in a time of their choosing.

The ritual picked the most fitting soul in that time period and merged the spell caster's soul with the pre-chosen soul. Harry had found the spell while looking through the Black's family library in Sirius's old house. It had decidedly been a perfect way to escape his hellish life and start over, but upon reading more closely he found there were ramifications of using the spell.

This being that the mix of souls could possibly cause one to lose their identity. The text had said the soul with the stronger will would dominate, while the less strong-willed soul would blend in. Disappearing almost entirely, leaving only its previous memories behind.

Harry had been somewhat hesitant at first, before deciding that even if he ended up lost and forever changed, at least he'd be free of his so-called friends and family.

He had intended to wait a while before casting it, so he could say his final goodbyes to the few he still cared for, but Dumbledore sicking the Aurors on him had moved up his time line.

Shaking his head, Harry cleared his thoughts. It was pointless to think of it now, he thought lightly. It was obvious Harry was still mostly himself.

The memories of the boy who had resided in this body before were present somewhere in the back of his mind. He focused briefly on them and felt the memories unfurl, revealing his name to be Haydn Prince.

Eyes widening, he cursed, he was related to Snape! Well this is an interesting turn of events, he thought bewildered. From what he had gathered from his previous memories of this life, he was Snape's grandfather's bastard brother.

It appeared his Father in this life had an unsolicited affair with some woman from a small French pureblooded family. He had fallen in love with her after the affair and planned to raise the child with her. However, his father had died shortly after his birth, leaving him with his mother's family which had recently gone bankrupt.

Having no money to take care of her child and no claim to the Prince's name, she had left Haydn with a family friend in hopes of giving him a decent childhood.

Those hopes appeared useless, as the family he had been left with were staunch supporters of Grindelwald and died in one of his raids. Leaving five-year old Haydn with no place to stay and not a single pence, stuck somewhere in the middle of London. Sighing, Haydn supposed this was just his luck.

* * *

Setting the newspaper that he had been staring rather fixedly at down, he looked downwards to take in his current outfit, which consisted of a white button down, black shorts, and a pair of black dress shoes with white shin length socks.

He wondered what he looked like. Haydn hoped there was not too much of a resemblance to Snape. No matter how close the two of them had gotten in the years before the war ended, he still didn't want to look too much like the greasy haired potion master.

Focusing back on the present, he decided Gringotts was his best shot. If he had any claim to the Prince name, then he would undoubtedly have at least a trust fund set up and could procure enough Galleons to stay in the Leaky Cauldron until he found a more permanent place to stay.

Moving swiftly, he made his way through the crowd of people milling around. No one showed him much attention which he supposed was somewhat of a blessing. Haydn didn't know how he would explain wandering around London without a guardian.

He had almost made it all the way to the Leaky Cauldron before he ran into the first sign of trouble. A man dressed in what he remembered to be the old police officer uniforms of the muggle law enforcement was making his way through the crowd straight toward Haydn.

Deliberately quickening his pace, Haydn had almost made it to the turn off for the Leaky Cauldron when he ran into the legs of someone in front of him. Said someone turned out to be none other than another police officer. Well fuck, he thought bitterly, he really did have horrible luck.

The police officer he had bowled into knelt in front of him offering him a little smile. "Hello little boy, what are you doing running around all by yourself? Where are your parents?" Staring up at the officer, Haydn gave his best attempt at a purely innocent face.

"Hello sir. My parents are just around here somewhere, I just got a little separated." The officer looked back at him holding eye contact for a moment before smiling sweetly again.

"Ah, so you're lost, son. Well my name is Andrew, what's yours?"

Attempting to look as put out as possible, Haydn gave a little pout and answered "I'm not lost! I'm just having a bit of trouble finding them is all, they said if I got lost I should just wait for them over there," he pointed to a bench off to the side of the flow of people, "and my name is Haydn, sir."

"Haydn, huh? That's a nice name. Well, let me tell you what how about we sit on that bench for a bit and wait for your parents to come?"

Wow he's a stubborn one. Turning my attention from Andrew to the ground and scuffing his shoe against the asphalt looking as contrite as possible Haydn answered, "I don't need to wait with anyone I'm a big boy! I can wait by myself."

The officer gave him a knowing look that made Haydn want to puke. "I know you think you can wait by yourself, but sometimes mean people come along and try to hurt people who can't defend themselves. So how about it Haydn, mind sticking with me until we find your parents?"

He wondered what the chances of the man caving in are if he throws a tantrum right here in the middle of the side-walk. Sighing and changing tactics, Haydn decided his best chance was to wait until the officer was distracted and make a run for it when his back was turned.

Nodding his head a bit, he followed the officer to the bench where they sat in somewhat uncomfortable silence waiting for Haydn's 'parents.' It was nearly an hour later when the officer starts to speak.

"Are you sure your parents know where to find you lad?" The man looks a little put out now. Shrugging lightly, Haydn burrowed a little deeper in the bench waiting for the officer to lose interest and leave him be.

* * *

They ended up waiting for another thirty minutes before the officer stands and looks back at Haydn. "I really do have to get back to work."

Smirking to himself at the perceived victory, Haydn nods quickly "I'm sorry for wasting your time Mr. Officer. I'll just wait here, I'm sure my parents won't be long now."

The officer shakes his head. "Now wait a minute Haydn I can't just leave you alone here. I'm going to take you with me to a nice little place you can wait for your parents at."

Haydn stares a bit at the man realizing he is planning to dump him somewhere where he will undoubtedly be watched until his imaginary parents arrive. Cursing, Haydn turns and tries to make a break for it, only to find the officers wrist clamping around his and dragging him forward.

"Now come along Haydn there's no reason to be afraid. I'm sure your parents will come and pick you up in no time."

The trip was made relatively quickly with Haydn subtly trying to escape the officer's death grip to flee before he's put into some sort of daycare.

Around about the fifth failed escape attempt, the officer abruptly stopped causing Haydn to look up and see something far worse than any day care.

They were in front of none other Wool's Orphanage.


	3. Chapter 3

_**An/ Hey everyone! Here is chapter three, I know there isn't too much interaction with Harry and Tom, but chapter 4 will be in Tom's point of view and will go into their conversation a bit more.**_

_**I want to say thank you to my fantastic beta Persephone-Gaia.**_

_**I hope everyone enjoys! (:**_

Chapter 3

Wool's looked nearly the same as it had in Dumbledore's memory. Its large dilapidated three stories were covered in dull red bricks cracked with age and abuse. Several sets of grime and dust caked windows also adorned the front of the building. Lastly, lying directly in front of the orphanage, there was a tall rusted metal gate with the orphanages named engraved on top.

All and all, the place looked no more welcoming than it had before. Haydn swallowed loudly attempting once again to pry his wrist from the firm grip of the officer who had now begun to walk up the cobblestone steps towards the entrance of Wool's dragging a protesting Haydn behind him.

Firmly ignoring said boy's protest, the two arrived quickly at the front of orphanage. The officer raised a hand and knocked several times before stepping back and waiting for an answer. Haydn, who had now given up his futile struggle, stood at his side; eyes fixed firmly on the ground as he desperately attempted to think of a way out of this mess.

A minute passed and soon a women, graying hair tied neatly back in a bun appeared. Her face wrinkled with age took in the boy at Officer Andrew's feet and sighed before gesturing inside.

"Another one I presume?" Andrew nodded lightly before answering.

"He says he's only lost, but I can't stick with him all day, and I also can't just leave him by himself. So I was hoping you'd watch him, until his parents show up." The women nodded before looking down at the boy.

"I am Mrs. Cole; you will be staying here at Wool's until your parents come to pick you up." Haydn gave her a sharp look and nodded before returning his eyes to the ground. The officer released the boy's hand and waved goodbye before making his way to the door and exiting back into the streets.

he women now identified as Mrs. Cole gave one look at the young child staring petulantly at the ground and said, "You have no parents. I can tell an orphan when I see one. Lying is not good for the soul, child, it only leads to misery and suffering."

Haydn lifted his head and stared for a moment debating the merit in denying her claim before deciding it pointless and giving a small nod, "I'm sorry Miss."

"See that it does not happen again." With those words, she began to make her way forward stopping in front a door, which Haydn presumed was her office as the name plate indicated. "This is my office; you may come here or to my adjourning room if there is a problem."

Walking inside the room, she took a seat at the desk set in the center room and motioned for Haydn to take one of the chairs opposite of her. Sitting down swiftly, Haydn looked up to see her sorting through a cabinet before pulling out a blank file and setting it upon her desk.

"Okay I have a few questions for you before we can get you settled. What is your full name?"

"Haydn Xavier Prince."

"How is that spelled?" She asked, not bothering to look up from the file she was currently scribbling away on.

"H-a-y-d-n X-a-v-i-e-r P-r-i-n-c-e." Nodding, Mrs. Cole moved to fill the response in the appropriate section.

"Alright next question, what is your date of birth?" Doing the math in his head Haydn answered.

"July, 30 1926." Writing that down, Mrs. Cole cleared her throat and continued.

"Parents or Guardians?" Blinking at the directness of the question, Haydn answered truthfully.

"None." Mrs. Cole wrote on for a few moments before stopping and standing. She moved over to a cabinet and pulled out several items.

"Here are two pairs of trousers, shorts, shirts, and undergarments, one pair of pajamas, one jacket and a pair of gloves. A towel and bathing supplies will be supplied to you in your room."

She exited her office and began making her way upstairs without checking to see if Haydn had followed. Attempting to keep up with her long strides, Haydn nearly ran into the back of her legs when she abruptly stopped.

Looking up he noticed they were in front of room 345.

"This is where you will be staying for the duration of your stay. Unfortunately, we are currently full so you will have to share a room….Your roommate is a bit…different. If he does anything to you tell me immediately, is that understood, Mr. Prince?" She was looking at him imploringly; with a look of what he supposed was mild fear or something of that sort. It was the most emotion he had seen on her face since he had arrived here.

Haydn was beginning to have a sinking suspicion as to who his roommate was. "Yes Mrs. Cole." Mrs. Cole looked at him a moment longer before she reached forward and opened the plain wooden door in front of them and stepped inside.

The room was fairly bare, except for two beds pushed into either side of the room and one large wardrobe sitting against the back wall.

Mrs. Cole stepped further inside and gestured to the right side of the room.

"This is where you will be sleeping. The bottom two drawers and the right side of the wardrobe are yours." Pulling out a marker, she handed it to Haydn.

"Make sure you label all your clothes. The other children are all downstairs eating in the mess. The mess hall is located on the second floor at the end of the corridor. Breakfast is served at 8 o' clock sharp, lunch following at twelve and dinner is at seven. Be on time to meals or you will not be fed.

Curfew is at nine, while lights out is at eleven. Do not be caught up after curfew or you will be punished. Welcome to Wool's Orphanage Mr. Prince."

On that note, she turned and left the room. Haydn stared after her for a second before setting his clothes down on the bed and started the process of folding and labeling them.

Once he was finished, Haydn made his way to the wardrobe and opened the bottom drawer finding a towel, tooth-brush, and soaps. Labeling those as well, Haydn quickly folded his clothes and placed them in the aforementioned places.

Finished, Haydn turned and read the small old style clock sitting on a bedside table next to the bed that Haydn presumed was his roommate.

Noting that it was only seven fifteen, Haydn made his way to the second floor hoping to locate the mess hall. After about five minutes of wandering, Haydn noticed the sound of children laughing and made his way to the open door at the end of the hall.

Looking inside, he saw a fairly large room filled children eating and laughing. Moving forward, he walked to the small group of children who were still waiting in line for food. Standing behind a boy who looked around twelve, Haydn slowly made his way to the front of the line where what he imagined what was supposed to be food was plopped down on his plate.

Looking around the room, he noticed that most of the tables were full; not particularly in the mood to speak to a bunch of children, Haydn made his way to the only table that was not mostly full.

Taking a seat at the far end of the table, Haydn sat down dropping his tray of 'food' on the table with a thump. The noise caused the only other occupant of the table to look up from the book they were reading.

Sighing, Haydn supposed he would have to make nice for the time being, and looking up fully prepared to dumb down his intelligence to a proper five-year old level, Haydn came face to face with none other than a young Tom Riddle.

"This is my table find somewhere else to sit." He blinked and waited a moment for the shock of seeing the tiny dark lord in front of him to pass. Once recovered, Haydn scowled.

"Oh? I was unaware you had claim to this table, your highness." Riddle, obviously a little shocked at being talked back at, recovered quickly.

"Look, I know you are new here, but mess with me and you will regret it. _Just Leave me alone_" The words were practically dripping with venom as Riddle glared back at him with such strength it would drive even the bravest child away.

But Haydn was not a child.

"Was that supposed to intimidate me? Nice try, but it will take more than a threat and a glare to scare me away. If I want to sit here I will." Done speaking, Haydn turned back to his meal and pointedly began ignoring Riddle.

* * *

Ten minutes into his dinner and Haydn could still feel Riddle's eyes on him. Sighing, Haydn debated just leaving. He had eaten as much of the sludge as he could stomach and he really didn't have a reason to stay, other than to annoy Riddle further and as much as he truly enjoyed annoying Riddle, he admitted to himself that making enemies with Tom would be rather pointless as they would most likely end up working together sometime in the future. Preparing to leave, Haydn started at Riddles voice.

"Tom Riddle."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Tom Riddle." Blinking at the seemingly random introduction, Haydn set his tray back down on the table and stared at the boy across from him. Riddle's face was mostly blank, but Haydn could still make out some trepidation and what looked like to be some fear and a great deal of weariness. They were decidedly odd facial expressions for a five year old.

"Haydn Prince, it's nice to meet you Tom." Haydn responded, reaching forward and holding his hand out. Tom seemed surprised by this, but it passed quickly and he reached out and grasped my hand in a firm grip. Even in this small form and Tom's obvious young age, Haydn could still feel the copious magic flowing through him.

Tom released his hand before standing and lifting his tray. "You are new here, what room are you staying in?" Moving to stand as well, Haydn answered.

"345, apparently I have a roommate, but I have yet to actually meet them." Not true of course, Haydn was nearly positive the boy across from him would turn out to be none other than his allusive roommate.

Tom made a face of pleasant surprise before confirming his suspicion.

"You have met your roommate seeing as that person is me. I was told someone would be rooming with me soon, I'm just glad you don't seem to be too much of an impeccable child." Smiling at Tom's roundabout compliment, Haydn replied.

"Well, I'm glad I've made such a wondrous first impression." Tom smirked, clearly happy at finding someone who could actually understand sarcasm.

"Do you wish to retire; I will show you the commons and the baths." Slightly surprised at the seemingly nice gesture, Haydn followed Tom and disposed of his tray. He hoped at some point he could spend a bit of time in front of a mirror to see what his new body looked like.

The mental image of a mini Snape was still running through his head and if he didn't check his appearance soon he would go mad, well madder than he already was at least.

* * *

Thirty minutes later after having a surprisingly pleasant conversation with Riddle and having a more in-depth tour of the orphanage, Haydn made an excuse to go off and use the loo, saying he would get a shower out-of-the-way as well.

Grabbing his bathing supplies, Haydn made his way to the bathroom on his floor, noticing the room was empty he took a deep breath and walked in front of the mirror.

What stared back at him surprised him greatly. While he could see some similarities to Snape, Haydn would not have been able to tell they were related had he not known.

This body had curly black hair (that seemed a great deal more tame than his previous potter hair), a thin but somewhat aristocratic nose, full lips, and fairly high cheekbones giving him an altogether an extremely attractive look, but what stood out the most were one pair of Avada Kedavara green eyes that had adorned his face for the last eighteen years.

The ritual had mentioned something about one trait of the spell caster making its way into their new body, but to be honest, Haydn had thought he would likely end up with Voldemort's scar adorning his forehead. He had always thought that to be the most noticeable and distinguished part of himself.

* * *

Pleased that he had not turned out to be a mini Snape, Haydn made his way to the shower and quickly cleaned himself before dressing and heading back to his new room were one Tom Riddle resided.

When Haydn had first been dragged here, he had thought of simply escaping when the caretaker's backs were turned and leaving at the very first opportunity, but after discovering Tom living here, his plans had changed. If he and Tom were to become close, it would open many doors in the future.

Alone Haydn was powerful, but with the help of one brilliant future Dark Lord Haydn would be nearly unstoppable.

Dumbledore would never see it coming.

_**An/Thank you for reading! Every time you review, a Pegasus gets its wings.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**An/This is the Beta'd version, thank ya'll so much for your patience.**_

_**And Thank you to my amazing beta Persephone-Gaia! **_

Chapter 4

They had moved the bed into his room exactly four days ago.

Mrs. Cole had come in one day a few hours before lunch and placed it there, stating that the orphanage would soon reach a near max capacity and that Tom was the only child left without a roommate.

The woman had seemed extremely reluctant to pair him with another child and had spent several minutes lecturing him and stating that if he did not behave when the child arrived he would be severely punished.

Tom, in response, had merely sent a sneer in her direction and returned to the book he had been reading. Tom honestly could care less if some snot nose brat was going to be living with him. They would leave eventually anyway.

They all left, whether because some family adopted them, or because they decided Tom was someone to be avoided, feared- it didn't matter- they would all still abandon him in the end because Humans were an illogical, spineless, unintelligent, selfish, species that Tom loathed to be apart of.

He knew he was special, somehow different then them, he felt it in his very bones and yet he could not escape his unfortunate humanity. He still craved companionship, kindness, acceptance….it sickened him.

Tom wished he didn't feel anything at all, it would be so much easier.

Sighing far too heavily for a five year old, Tom set his book down, sent another glare at the bed set against the right wall of his room, and began making his way to the mess hall for dinner.

* * *

A few moments later, Tom entered the mess hall and made the familiar motions of waiting in line- procuring his food, sitting himself at his table, and ignoring the hatred and fear filled eyes of the children around him.

Tom pulled out the copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream which he had nicked from one of the matrons and began to read. Completely submerged in the Shakespearean novel, Tom actually jumped when a tray was dropped on his table with a loud thump.

Looking up in anger, Tom came face to face with a pair of brilliant green eyes. The owner of said green eyes plopped down in the seat adjacent from him.

Scowling, Tom assumed the the boy was new or he would not have had the audacity to sit at his table.

Intent on getting the boy to leave, Tom delivered a terse "This is my table find somewhere else to sit." Putting as much steel in his voice as possible.

The boy looked at him in what appeared to be surprise, before he frowned and retorted, "Oh? I was unaware you had claim to this table, your highness."

Shocked at the rebuttal, Tom took a moment to compose himself before glaring heatedly at the boy and filled his voice with as much venom as possible, "Look, I know you are new here, but mess with me and you will regret it. /Just leave me alone/"

The last part of the sentence he hissed in the language he used to speak with the snakes that he sometimes found in the garden. Tom pushed as much of it, behind the words as well.

Everyone obeyed when he used it. Further proof that he was better than the filth around him. Smirking at his perceived victory, Tom reached for his book fully prepared to go back to ignoring the existence of the children around him.

"Was that supposed to intimidate me? Nice try, but it will take more than a threat and a glare to scare me away. If I want to sit here I will."

Tom stared in utter befuddlement. Impossible. There is no way this boy should not have been able to resist it. How? Was this boy immune to it? Could it be possible that the boy was different like him? Could he use it too?

Tom watched as the boy went back to his food and studiously began ignoring him. The child looked to be about the same age as Tom, he had short curly black hair that just barely reached his ears, full lips and a thin long nose. All and all, the boy was very striking, but the most phantasmagorical part of the boy were his verdant jade eyes.

The boys eyes held a dreary intelligence that Tom often saw when he looked into his own eyes. In so many ways, looking at the boy was like gazing into an introverted mirror. Tom could feel how alike they were.

Tom wanted him. This odd green eyed child would be his.

"Tom Riddle."

The boy looked up startled, "Pardon?"

"My name is Tom Riddle." Tom watched the boy wearily. He hardly ever attempted to actually hold a polite conversation with someone his own age. Tom worried he would do something wrong and send the boy away like all the others.

To his pleasant surprise, the boy did not retreat- he simply held his hand out and introduced himself, "Haydn Prince, it's nice to meet you Tom."

Wiping the surprise at the kind response from his face, Tom reached out and took Haydn's hand in a firm handshake. Tom could feel it flow through the hands at the contact and wondered if Haydn could feel it as well.

Moving to stand, Tom said, "You are new here, what room are you staying in?"

Haydn watched him for a moment before answering, "345, apparently I have a roommate, but I have yet to actually meet them."

Tom could barely stop the contented smile from breaking out on his face at the discovery. Covering his slip, Tom quipped, "You have met your roommate seeing as that person is me. I was told someone would be rooming with me soon, I'm just glad you don't seem to be too much of an imbecilic child."

Instead of becoming angry as most of the children would, Haydn merely smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad I've made such a wondrous first impression."

Tom smirked, pleased that his new friend was intelligent enough to notice sarcasm and respond in kind. "Do you wish to retire; I will show you the commons and the baths."

Haydn nodded quickly and followed Tom as he gave a small tour. Tom asked a few questions here and there but they mostly walked in silence.

A little while later, they arrived back at room 345. Tom moved and sat on his own bed before returning his attention to Haydn who was looking at him curiously.

"Is something wrong Haydn?" Tom asked gesturing for Haydn to sit down as well.

Haydn seemed unsure for a moment, before taking a seat and casting his gaze back towards him. "You are being exceptionally kind. Why?"

Slightly taken back by the question, Tom pursed his lips and leaned back "I am simply attempting to form a friendship. As I said before, you seem to be more engaging company than the rest of the mindless children that reside here."

Haydn looked at him, apparently stunned with his answer, before his face was schooled and his face once again became blank. "You don't seem the type for whimsical friendships."

Tilting his head to the side, Tom answered honestly " I'm not usually, but you are different. I appreciate different, therefore I will make an exception to my usual rules"

Haydn smiled, "Well then I am glad I fit your standards. Do you mind if I run to the Loo? I want to go ahead and get my shower out of the way."

"That is fine." Tom watched as Haydn made his way to their shared dresser and pulled out his bath supplies.

"See you later then, Tom" Tom nodded staring at the closed door for a moment, before turning back to his book that he had abandoned in favor of speaking with Haydn.

Tom had a feeling that this was beginning of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

_**3 months later**_

They were going to be late, Haydn thought with a sigh. Curfew was in ten minutes and if they didn't make it in time the gates would be locked and he and Tom would be punished once again.

Pulling the books they had procured from the library closer to his chest, Haydn quickened his pace and grabbed Tom's hand yanking the scowling boy along behind him.

"I don't see why you are in such a hurry Haydn. It's not as if we haven't been late before. Mrs. Cole will lock us in are rooms and not allow us out until she deems we have learned our 'lesson'. It's not that big of a deal- we spend most of our time there anyways."

Frowning, Haydn turned back and gave Tom a look. "I want to show you something tomorrow, and if we are grounded I won't be able to."

Perking up a bit, Tom asked "Show me something? This wouldn't have to be the same thing you have been mumbling about for the past month, is it?

Sighing yet again, Haydn nodded " Yes it is. Howev-" Before he could finish his sentence, Tom reversed their grip and began pulling Haydn behind him instead.

"Well then what are we waiting for!?" He said as he took of running, dragging Haydn along. Smiling at his antics, Haydn set into a run as well before allowing his thoughts to drift.

Haydn had decided to tell Tom about the Wizarding world.

He had been contemplating when to tell him ever since they became friends months ago, but had never found the right time. That was until Tom's most recent burst of accidental magic caused one of their fellow orphans skin turn green, causing Haydn to decide waiting any longer would be detrimental to the both of them.

Looking up, Haydn saw Wool's gates and checked his wrist watch. Five minutes to spare. Making their way up the steps, Tom and him started the trek towards their room.

A few minutes later, Harry flopped on Tom's bed burying himself in the covers to ward off the cold November air.

Tom scoffed, "Make yourself comfortable then."

Grinning, Haydn said "I will, thank you." Before rolling over onto his stomach to watch Tom pull out a book from the makeshift bookshelf Haydn had put together one particularly boring day.

"So are you going to tell me about this place you wish to take me or is it a surprise?"

"Well...It has to do with what happened to Lea Little." Tom froze and tensed.

"I did nothing to her." Haydn stared at Tom a moment, before casting his eyes to the ceiling. Tom was extremely defensive about his bouts of accidental magic.

Haydn had only personally witnessed a few episodes, but from what he had heard from his limited conversation with the other children it was a rather common occurrence.

"Yes you did." Tom scowled, dark eyes narrowing into a glare he hadn't seen since that day in the mess hall three months ago.

"Oh? I did?" He sneered. "Going to start calling me a freak now too, Prince?

"No, Tom I'm not. I don't think you are a freak. I think you are special just like me."

Tom's glare turned into a look of curiosity. "Special?"

Smiling lightly, Haydn answered, "Yes special. Tom, what do you think of magic?"

Tom blinked. "Magic? It's just something from fairy tales."

"No, it is very much real, but only special people like you and I can use it. They call us Wizards."

Tom stared for a long moment, dozens of emotions filtering through his eyes, before he slowly made his way to his bed, eyes unreadable. "You are saying there are other like me? That you can do what I do?"

"Yes." Collapsing next to him, Tom buried his head in his hands.

"I knew I was different than them. That I was special." They sat in a moment of silence as Tom processed what he had learned.

"This place you want to show me, it is related to Wizards?"

Smiling slightly, Haydn responded,"Yes. It's called Diagon Alley. It's something of a wizarding shopping mall." Tom looked up, eyes filling with excitement.

"Do they have a bookstore?" Haydn let out a surprised laugh.

"You and books Tom!" Still laughing, Haydn continued, "Yes, they do have a bookstore."

"Good. Now tell me what you know of this Wizarding world." Relaxing back onto to the bed, Haydn laid down and began to explain about Hogwarts, his parents, and the world he grew up in.

"So the Prince's are an old line?" Tom asked eagerly, absorbing all the information Haydn was giving.

"Yes. However considering I was born out of wedlock and that my father is dead, I do not know if I have a true claim to the name. Tomorrow we will visit Gringotts and see if I was left any inheritance. While we are at it, we can check to see if you descend from a wizarding line or not."

Haydn already knew that Tom was a descendant of Slytherin of course, but considering he hadn't even heard Tom speak parseltongue, he couldn't explain where he came about the knowledge.

"I thought you said I was a muggleborn? Are you saying I might actually have a wizarding family?" Tom seemed exuberant at the prospect.

"It is possible." Noticing Tom let out a yawn, Haydn said. "Now I will explain more tomorrow. If we are going to go to Diagon alley tomorrow, then we will need to get up early."

Tom frowned and then nodded, pulling the covers over the both of them and blowing out the candle on his nightstand. He and Tom usually slept in the same bed on unreasonably cold nights to keep warm.

Heating systems were one of the few things Haydn missed from his own time. Rolling on to his side, Haydn said quietly "Goodnight Tom."

"Goodnight Haydn."

_**An/ For every review I name a raccoon. (that rhymed!)**_


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